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Lions rookie hurls 1st shutout for 1st win

Saitama Seibu Lions hurler Kazuhisa Makita probably wasn’t the only person thrilled about a performance that earned him his first pro victory. The manager and guys in the bullpen were also happy, since they were Makita gave them the gift of a night off from pitching -- yet again.

The rookie right-hander on Friday at the Kleenex Box -- the first night game in Sendai -- tossed his first shutout, blanking the Rakuten Eagles 2-0 on a 128-pitch six-hitter in just his fourth start.

The submariner fanned six and walked one, allowing the guys in the pen to rest in the team’s first shutout this season.

“I finally got that first win and I’m just really happy,” Makita said during the hero interview.

“More than me picking up a victory, I took the mound thinking only about what I could do to help Seibu get a win,” said Makita (1-2), who is from Shizuoka Prefecture and went to Heisei International University in Saitama.

“I was pretty tired in the later stages of the game, but I just wanted to win and that’s how I pitched,” said Makita, the team’s second-round draft pick last year.

Takumi Kuriyama slugged a two-run homer off Masahiro Tanaka (2-2) in the third inning for the only runs of the game. The longball was the first of the season for Kuriyama and club’s 8,000th all-time.

The Lions are still in last place in the Pacific League, having won two straight after a six-game slide.

Makita has thrown at least 7.1 innings in every start.

HAWKS 4, FIGHTERS 1

Nobuhiro Matsuda stroked his league-lead-tying sixth homer, a two-run shot that broke a 1-1 deadlock in the ninth, and Hitoshi Tamura had two RBI doubles as SoftBank rallied to beat Nippon Ham at Sapporo Dome.

Hiroki Yamada (3-1) surrendered a homer to Sho Nakata but nothing else over eight innings, handcuffing the Fighters on three hits and a walk with two Ks.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

BAYSTARS 3, TIGERS 1

Takeshi Hosoyamada’s bases-loaded single in the second inning drove in two -- his first RBIs since April 17 of last year -- and Shogo Yamamoto (2-2) carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning as host Yokohama topped Hanshin.

Yamamoto lost the no-no when Matt Murton opened the seventh with an infield single to short, but the lefty limited Hanshin to three hits and two walks with four Ks over eight innings to win it.

GIANTS 3, DRAGONS 0

Hayato Sakamoto’s bases-loaded single in the seventh inning broke a scoreless tie, and Tetsuya Utsumi (3-1) tossed six scoreless innings as Yomiuri snapped a nine-game losing streak at Nagoya Dome with its win over Chunichi.